Under the Stars

2. My best friend

Chapter 2: My best friend

Mia's POV

*****

I groaned as my alarm clock woke me up at 7 a.m. sharp, turning on my side to turn off the gadget that decided to interrupt my slumber. Waking up was never a fun part of my day, especially not when I was being awoken for my first day of school. 

As I groggily looked at the time and date on my phone, my eyes widened in realisation as it registered in my head that it was the same day Layla was going back to her country. Throwing my phone on my bed in frustration, I tried rubbing the sleep off of my eyes, still angered by the fact that because of school, I couldn't go bid goodbye to my best friend. 

It seemed so weird to refer to someone I had only known for a weekend as my best friend, but despite having known her for such a short amount of time, that was exactly what she had become. After the party, we exchanged numbers and talked the entire night after we got home. Wanting to make the best out of her trip, she asked me what the best things to do were, which was why we spent the entire weekend together, going around the country and laughing together. 

She was the one who knew me for the shortest time, yet she was also the one who knew more about me than anyone else. She was the only one who cared enough to know who Emilia Everley truly was and I was more than appreciative of that. For once in my life I felt that I had finally found someone who I felt comfortable around, someone who could truly understand me and make me feel like myself, and I was already losing her. 

Trying to contain the tears that were threatening to slip out, I sent her a quick message wishing her a good flight and telling her to message me as soon as she landed so I could make sure she was okay. 

Taking a deep breath and trying to get myself together, I walked into the bathroom to try and get ready for school, knowing that I only had a couple of minutes before the school bus picked me up. 

Trying to not mope around at the fact that Layla was leaving me, I washed my face to make myself look less dead before I put on my school uniform. 

Unlike many others, I wasn't complaining about the fact that we had to wear a uniform to school. Not everyone was as rich as some others, meaning that not everyone could afford to buy the types of clothes the more wealthy kids could. I for one certainly did not have enough clothes to wear different outfits every single day for school, and I knew for certain that I wouldn't have been spared from the snickers of those around me. Wearing a uniform gave everyone the chance to be accepted, while giving them the chance to be creative in order to be able to distinguish themselves from everybody else. 

As for the uniform design, it certainly wasn't something which one ought to have complained about. The girls wore a red plaid skirt, a matching tie, and a white button up shirt with the school crest on the right side of the chest area. The guys and a number of other girls, on the other hand, wore grey pants instead of a skirt. In winter, a navy blue cardigan with the school crest could be worn over the shirt. 

Putting my hair up in a high messy ponytail, I made my way downstairs as I grabbed an apple and put on my red sneakers, a frown settling on my face as I realised that both of my parents had already left for work. 

Sighing, I grabbed my black backpack and made my way to the bus stop to wait for the bus along with a couple of other kids. 

Checking my phone for a message from Layla, my face instantly dropped as I realised that I had no pending messages. I sighed as I realised that I had probably sent the text too late, and she was already probably on the plane. Trying to calm down the anxiety that started kicking in, bringing with it paranoia, I walked onto the school bus and took my usual window seat, leaning my head on the window quietly as the bustling students around me chatted among themselves.